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Facility labels

Bulk label tools rename facilities according to a pattern — by far the cheapest way to bring an imported set of facilities into your naming convention before the project grows. Once a project has a hundred features named Imported_001 through Imported_100, you do not want to rename them one at a time.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

  • Apply a label pattern to a selection of facilities
  • Use sequence numbers and per-feature substitutions in the pattern
  • Recognize the effect of a label change on drawings, forms, and exports

Why bulk renaming matters​

Labels appear:

  • On the map as feature labels
  • In the features list as the Name column
  • On every drawing the project produces
  • On every form the project produces
  • In every export of the project

A consistent naming convention is therefore not cosmetic — it is what makes deliverables readable and what makes a project navigable to a colleague. A bulk-rename tool is how you bring imported data into that convention without an afternoon of clicking.

Pattern syntax​

A label pattern is a template with placeholders that the tool substitutes per feature:

[TODO: FILL IN — exact placeholder syntax in the current Siter UI. Typical placeholders to document:]

PlaceholderSubstitutes
{seq}Sequence number across the selection (1, 2, 3...)
{seq:03}Zero-padded sequence (001, 002, 003...)
{type}The feature's type code
{layer}The feature's layer name
{n}The feature's existing name

A pattern like Magazine {seq:03} produces Magazine 001, Magazine 002, Magazine 003, ... A pattern like {type}-{seq:02} produces ECM7-01, ECM7-02, ... A pattern like Line A — {n} prefixes every existing name with Line A — .

[TODO: FILL IN — confirm the exact placeholder syntax and any additional placeholders Siter supports.]

Preview before commit​

Always preview the label pattern before committing — it is the cheapest way to catch a placeholder typo or a sequence ordering surprise. The preview should show the existing name and the proposed name for each selected feature.

[TODO: FILL IN — exact preview UI and confirmation step.]

Sort order matters for sequence​

Sequence numbers are assigned in selection order. If the selection comes from the features list, the list's current sort order determines which feature is 001 and which is 100.

Sort the features list deliberately before selecting:

  • Sort by Name for alphabetical sequencing
  • Sort by Layer then Name for grouped-by-layer sequencing
  • Sort by a custom column that captures the spatial order you want

The wrong sort produces a correct rename in the wrong order — easy to fix with a re-run, but easier to avoid in the first place.

Where label changes propagate​

Label changes propagate immediately to:

  • The map (feature labels)
  • The features list
  • Future drawings and forms

Label changes do not retroactively update:

  • Existing result sets (they reflect the names at result-set creation time)
  • Already-generated drawings or forms
  • Already-exported files

If a deliverable references the old label, regenerate it after the rename.

Try it​

In a project with a layer of imported features all named Feature_001 through Feature_NN:

  1. Select all features on the layer
  2. Open the bulk label dialog
  3. Apply pattern ECM-{seq:03} and preview
  4. Confirm the preview shows ECM-001, ECM-002, etc.
  5. Commit and verify the names update on the map and in the features list